Saturday, April 7, 2012

There is a nice article by John Pohl in the Montreal Gazette about Papier12, which will take place next week.

It has been my pleasure to get to know Emilie Grandmont-Bérubé in the past year, and as a gallerist, I concur with her philosophy:

"It’s the job of a gallery owner to find art that suits a potential buyer – even if the search leads to another establishment, says Emilie Grandmont-Bérubé, co-owner of Galerie Trois Points."

The article goes on to say:

"Next weekend the search will be considerably easier, as Papier 12 gathers 38 galleries representing more than 400 artists into one temporary structure at Bleury St. and de Maisonneuve Blvd., just off the northwest corner of Place des Festivals.

As the name suggests, Papier 12 features works on paper – usually the least expensive art you can buy. And Papier 12, which has no admission charge, is all about accessibility, added Grandmont-Bérubé, who is also treasurer of the organization behind the art fair, the Contemporary Art Galleries Association (AGAC).

Six of Toronto’s best private art galleries have booths at Papier 12."

We are happy to be one of those six galleries from Toronto! I for one would very much enjoy seeing more cross-fertilization between the Toronto and Montreal art scenes. We had a wonderful experience last year showing Alexis Lavoie and David Lafrance, and several of our artists have Montreal connections, either by birth, current or past residency, or via Concordia, McGill or UQAM.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Our lease has expired and we've had to leave our space at 624 Richmond West. What a joy it has been to have 2400 sq. ft and multiple levels at my disposal: so unusual for a gallery in the downtown core, and perfectly suited to programming double and triple solo shows with inter-related themes. Sad, but such is the ebb and flow of urban development. When Crate 'n' Barrel and Joe Fresh move in, you know that the days of the galleries are numbered.

Moos Gallery will be leaving as well. Walter Moos has been in the business for 52 years, and on Richmond for 13 years. He's remarkable gentleman, and it's been an honour to be his neighbour.

We'll be in Montreal in next week, with a booth at Papier 12. I am looking forward to blogging from our rented apartment in Mile End!

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Friday, March 23, 2012

A discussion and Q and A
featuring
Daryl Vocat, artist
and
Ken Moffatt, Ph.D.,
"Troubled Masculinities: Reimagining Urban Men" Saturday, March 24, 1 pm
(No charge for admission, but you must reserve a spot.)
RSVP here

Daryl Vocat, What One Does to Another (2012), Etching on Somerset paper, editon of 10; 10" x 12"

Now showing in the Lower Gallery:Daryl Vocat: "One Continuous Mistake"

"I use Boy Scout imagery to discuss behavioural norms, sexuality, and the construction of masculinity. These boys exist in the space between how they are expected to behave, and how they want to behave. They fumble through moral experiments while haphazardly staking out their own territory. These characters imitate the world, images and scenarios surrounding them."
Daryl Vocat thanks Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council for their support.
Daryl Vocat is represented by KWT contemporary.

Fiona Crangle, Lucy (2011) , oil on canvas, 40" x 60"

Now showing in the Upper Gallery
Fiona Crangle: "Be Prepared"

"It was the overlapping iconography of "sainting" and "scouting" that initiated this body of work: hagiographic symbols litter the insignia, motifs and especially the badges of the world of scouts and guides. The trials and stages of each saint's quest towards ultimate goodness can be mapped out via an accumulation of scouting badges. The symbols that throughout art history have visually identified each saint - originally for an illiterate audience- are also found in the Catalogue of Scouting Honours. But the similarity does not stop at the symbolic; both these young female saints and Girl Guides are in pursuit of a goal of self betterment, moving toward an ideal vision/version of themselves through a series of challenges. And importantly, both groups are adolescents."
Fiona Crangle is represented by KWT contemporary

KWT contemporary is located at 624 Richmond St. West, at the corner of Bathurst, in Toronto.Open noon-six, Wednesday through Saturday.

"Over at the Art Gallery of Peterborough, they’ve just opened their Inaugural Triennial Exhibition, focusing on Peterborough-area artists. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that, of course, if this show is at all representative of what’s happening aesthetically in the area, a heck of a lot of artists are working two-dimensionally. There are a lot of paintings and drawings here. So, as a minority-report kind of person, I’ll focus on some of the things – that is, the objects – in the show, like Brad Copping’s work. You could call him a glass artist, but that doesn’t really do justice to what he’s up to. Copping has two works included here, one of which is a wall-mounted piece entitled Level Conversation. It’s by no means a recent work, but still good to see. Two clear drinking glasses affixed to the wall at slightly different heights are connected with one another by a long clear tube the sags down to the floor and is filled with water. There’s water in the glasses as well, more in the slightly lower one, but the top of which is even with the water in the slightly higher glass. It’s a level, of course, a version of a working tool elegantly and simply reimagined. Kudos."

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"In art, the idea of human goodness is packaged and delivered to us as beauty. Saints, the definitive do-gooders, are rendered as exquisite creatures: glowingly beautiful, artfully posed, often adorned with arichness usually reserved for more worldly personas. During the Baroque period and especially in the hands of Zurbaran and Caravaggio, the paintings of these perfect young things mix desire with the desire to be good, creating a push/pull response in the viewer. Allowing light and dark to fight for space on the canvas reflects the conflicting nature of the viewer's response.

It was the overlapping iconography of "sainting" and "scouting" that initiated this body of work: hagiographic symbols litter the insignia, motifs and especially the badges of the world of scouts and guides. The trials and stages of each saint's quest towards ultimate goodness can be mapped out via an accumulation of scouting badges. The symbols that throughout art history have visually identified each saint - originally for an illiterate audience- are also found in the Catalogue of Scouting Honours. But the similarity does not stop at the symbolic; both these young female saints and Girl Guides are in pursuit of a goal of self betterment, moving toward an ideal vision/version of themselves through a series of challenges. And importantly, both groups are adolescents.

Adolescence is a short lived period of idealism. Physically, we are at our most ideal, like a young Greek kouros or kore, with lithe and supple bodies poised at the cusp of adulthood. Emotionally, this is a time of black and white belief systems, of unshakeable idealism. The saints depicted in Be Prepared have been chosen because at the root of their stories they are defiantly stubborn in a way that only a teenager can be. They have made choices that no amount of forceful persuasion can sway. Most often their stories involve rebuffing the advances of a man that responds to their physical desirability- the ideal beauty of adolescence enhanced by their innate goodness that polishes it to perfection. This holds true to images of adolescents today- their ripening beauty compels us to stare and in fact demands it. And yet the gaze that returns ours is aggressive and challenging, masking an uncertain reaction to the invitation to become a sexual being. The contemporary faces of the girls used for the blended Girl Guide- saints in Be Prepared are armoured with a modern belligerence.... Look, but don't touch."

-Fiona Crangle (January, 2012)

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